Getty Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (left) & Washington Wizards guard Bradley Beal (right).
If you haven’t heard by now, the Bradley Beal sweepstakes may soon be upon us. Per Bleacher Report’s Jake Fischer, the Washington Wizards All-Star guard could request a trade prior to Thursday night’s draft. Should he do so, the Boston Celtics are said to be among a short-list of teams he “would welcome joining.”
Turns out, not only would Beal “welcome” a move to Beantown, it may very well be atop his list of preferred destinations, as highlighted by Fischer’s colleague, Jason Dumas.
Source: If Brad Beal does in fact move forward and request a trade, Boston would be a preferred destination to play with longtime friend Jayson Tatum and compete for a championship.
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Tatum Reacts to Beal Trade Rumors
Of course, the Beal-Tatum relationship has been well documented over recent months, as the two have been highly vocal about their desires to one day team up on the NBA hardwood for longer than a 48-minute All-Star exhibition game. They were recently stripped of the opportunity to chase gold together in the Tokyo Olympics after Beal entered COVID protocol, which admittedly “upset” Tatum.
With that said, the Celtics star was likely able to don his recruiting cap more than few times before Beal’s Team USA exit. And, by the look of it, Tatum doesn’t plan on swapping out his headwear anytime soon.
As captured by Tim Sheils of Banner Town, USA, Tatum made no qualms about his preference for where he’d prefer Beal to be playing ball come next season. The Celtics cornerstone commented a clover emoji on an Instagram post regarding Beal’s potential trade request. Take a look:
Jayson Tatum speaking pretty clearly about Bradley Beal and what he wants #Celtics
Tatum & Beal’s ‘Special Relationship’
Despite growing up just five minutes down the road from one another and attending the same high school — Chaminade College Prep in Creve Coeur (MO) — the five-year age gap between Beal and Tatum stripped the duo of ever linking up as teammates. Regardless, the now-28-year-old Beal manned a mentorship role early on in Tatum’s life which has since transitioned and blossomed into a relationship that the Wizards star would describe as nothing less than “special.”
“Even from growing up, we’ve never been on the same team, ever; in pick-up, we’re never on the same team,” Beal said of playing alongside Tatum during a Team USA press conference, via NBC Sports Boston. “This is definitely exciting for both of us. I’m definitely happy about his growth and excited to see him on the global stage as well as myself and everybody. We have a really good team but Jayson and I have a special relationship and I’m looking forward to it, it will be exciting. The ultimate goal is getting the gold.”
Not only would Beal teaming up with Tatum in Boston be a great story, but it would also mean an influx of talent and scoring prowess added to a Celtics lineup which left much to be desired last season, finishing the 2020-21 regular season with a mere .500 record. Beal has established himself as one of the league’s premier scorers, averaging 30.0-plus points per game and finishing as the NBA’s second-leading scorer in back-to-back seasons.
Having said that, the Celtics are no sure bet to land Beal should he request a trade out of Washington. Such a talent should undoubtedly draw a bevy of interested suitors on the trade market. The Golden State Warriors, Miami Heat and Philadelphia 76ers are already teams believed to be in play, per Fischer. Expect that list to build exponentially over the coming days if the rumored timeline of Beal’s potential request holds true.
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